• Appellation: 1er Grand Cru Classé B
• Surface area: 22 hectares, 15.52 hectares in production
• Yield: 35 hectolitres per hectare
• Terroir: Clay-limestone plateau
• Exposure: South / South-West
• Grape varieties: 75 % Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc
• Density: 5500 plants per hectare
• Average age of vines: 25 years
• Vineyard management: Double guyot pruning, manual leaf thinning, crop thinning before color change; environmentally–friendly spray program

GROWING SEASON: 2005 was a year of drought. After a particularly dry winter (the moisture deficit reached as much as 70%), January and February were very cold, and then March was very mild and almost summer-like. April was the only month to have real rain. The budding and then the flowering (first week of June) were completed in quite quick time and in good weather conditions. The first signs of drought appeared as early as June bringing about a slowing down of vine shoot growth. The hot weather continued into July before letting up in August when the temperatures were cooler. Because of the lack of water, the size of the berries remained small and sugar content as well as total polyphenol content in the grapes at picking were high. The resulting wine had a magnificent, very deep color, ripe yet fresh fruit flavors and an amazingly rich tannic structure. These qualities were preserved by Canon’s terroir and its cool limestone subsoil.

HARVEST: Since the 2002 vintage, the introduction of a new harvest reception system has enabled us to take even greater care of the selection and handling of the grape bunches. After a painstaking selection in the vines, the best bunches are taken in small-sized crates to the vat cellar entrance. These are then carefully tipped on to a sorting table, where a team of 6 to 8 people removes any berries that are of lesser quality. After a gentle de-stemming, the berries are then sorted by 10 people who discard any berries which have not reached perfect ripeness. The crop is then placed in small 3 hectoliter stainless steel containers and emptied into the new stainless steel fermentation vats by gravity. Canon thereby avoids any aggressive handling of the crop through pumps and pipes.

VINIFICATION:
• Alcoholic fermentation for 10 days
• Maceration for 15 days in temperature-controlled oak vats with three daily pump-overs of half or the whole of the volume of the vat
• Malo-lactic fermentation in stainless steel vats and in barrels
• Aging in barrels for 18 months, 60 % of which are brand new, racking through the small bunghole at the end of the barrel every three months, fining with fresh egg whites and no filtering

BLENDING: 80% Merlot 20% Cabernet Franc
ALCOHOL: 14%

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